The Real Story
by Little Mockingjay
Summary: What if both Asami and Korra had very different stories? Hiroshi is actually Asami's uncle who took her in after her mother, his sister, died in childbirth and sent her twin sister to an orphanage in the South Pole when she was revealed to be a bender. Korra started life in an orphanage in the South Pole before she was revealed as the Avatar and taken by the White Lotus. Major AU.
1. Backstory

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Legend Of Korra.

**Note**: I was fiddling with ideas for a youtube redub of LoK. It's still in the embryonic stage in that I have nothing, not even DVDs, and am too poor to buy anything. As an added storyline, Korra and Asami's backstories have been changed completely and merged for fun. I decided to note that Akina was a real risk taker, because both the girls are as well.

**Chapter One: Backstory  
**

If there was one thing Akina Sato regretted, it was falling for that Tarrlok. They weren't married, they weren't even living together, but she'd fallen for him all the same. As soon as she revealed that she was pregnant, he'd cut her out of his life. Of course Hiroshi went on and on about how he was nothing more than a filthy bender, but she refused to agree. She swore that brother of hers would jump at any tiny chance to demonize benders. The awful part was that she still loved him.

Akina might have loved Tarrlok, but he wasn't even here. He had had the guts to disown the child before it was even born because, as he said, having an illegitimate child would hurt his all-important reputation. Maybe it was a bad idea to get involved with a politician. Now she was breathing as hard as she could, pushing and breathing as the doctor said.

"Alright, I see a crowning!" Akina gasped in happiness and before she knew what was going on, a shrill cry filled the room. "It's a beautiful girl!"

Akina smiled before another wave of pain hit. "Uh-oh!" Another doctor said. "Looks like we're not quite done here."

Akina's heart spiked in surprise. "Twins?"

"Looks like it! Push!" Akina put everything she could into that push. She was already so exhausted and she wasn't sure she could handle it. It was a strange thought, she was always so wild and adventurous. She almost never gave thought to whether she would live through something, but now...she wasn't so sure. Soon enough, a second cry filled the room. "Another girl, and this one looks like a fighter."

Akina was weak now. She was having trouble thinking and it was getting colder in here. She could vaguely see her daughters. One, the elder, had her fair skin and pale green eyes. The younger looked like her father with darker skin and brilliant blue eyes. As breath became more and more rare for her, Akina knew she was not long for this world. "P-please." she gasped, tears falling from her eyes, "Please, call my brother Hirsoshi Sato, he'll take care of them." Akina let out a deep breath and closed her eyes to rest. She would never wake up.

Hirsoshi eyed the two girls playing six months later. The older, Asami, was his favorite. She looked just like her mother. The younger, Korra, looked like her scum of a father but was every bit as adventurous as her mother, always reaching for new things always eying thinks with mischief. Hiroshi's eyes widened with shock, which quickly turned into anger as the younger girl began screaming...and the water in his glass began moving. It slowly rose from his glass and flew over the crying girl. She immediately stopped and stared in wonder and soon her cries became giggles as she bent the water in midair. Asami laughed and clapped happily.

Shock quickly turned to hatred. Only one more thing to make her like that rat Tarrlok, being a bender. Well, not in his house. The next day he took the girls down to the South Pole, there was no way that child was growing up in his city. There was a small orphanage down there ran by a couple. For the first few months, Asami was miserable without Korra, always sitting by herself in a corner, moping, depressed. Eventually, though, she forgot about Korra and returned to her usual, bubbly self.

Hiroshi was glad that, even with Tarrlok as a councilmen, they'd never see Korra again. How very wrong he was.

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It has been brought to my attention before that I have misspelled Hiroshi's name, but I fixed it. Review.


	2. Scared

**Chapter Two: Scared**

Korra was shaking in her bed and Tenzin could see the beads of sweat littering her forehead. She was now thoroughly tangled in the covers. Even in sleep, she couldn't escape her fear. Her friends, her pro-bending teammates and the Sato girl, had phoned earlier to ask how she was and insisted on coming over after he told them. After her ambush by Amon last night, Korra did need rest, but she also needed her friends just as much.

The door opened slowly and a boy Tenzin recognized as Korra's earthbending friend poked his head in timidly. He looked very worried, so Tenzin wasted no time waving them in. Behind him came the firebender and Ms. Sato, who also looked worried. The earthbender didn't take his frightened eyes off of Korra's sleeping form.

"Is she gonna be okay?" the firebender asked Tenzin. He remained composed but his eyes showed that he was, in fact, every bit as worried as his brother.

"She'll be fine." Tenzin said, "She just needs rest for now." Mako looked at her regretfully, as if he thought this could have been prevented. Asami put a comforting hand on his shoulder which he took and seemed to accept. "There's nothing that any of us could have done. Korra's always been far too headstrong to be reasoned with." Mako couldn't help but smile fondly at this. It was difficult for him to imagine the girl as being anything but headstrong. Before Tenzin could say more, the door opened abruptly.

Tenzin's anger rose at the sight of Tarrlock, as smug-looking as ever. "Alright, you've rested enough, Avatar. C'mon, on your feet. Just because you failed once –"

Mako, Bolin and Asami were shocked to see how cold Tarrock was being with her and suddenly felt defensive of the girl. Bolin took Korra's hand and scowled at Tarrlock. Asami only stared accusingly at him, silently aching to put this man in his place. She'd grown up hearing from her father how Tarrlock was not to be trusted and he didn't deserve to be where he was, words she clearly agreed with now. Mako, ever the big brother, stood protectively between the men and the bed, glaring at Tarrlock and silently daring him to take a step closer.

"It's time for a talk." Tenzin snarled as he dragged Tarrlock into the hall. The room wasn't sound-proof, so the three teenagers heard every word. Outside the room and unmindful of the three just behind the closed door, Tenzin and Tarrlock kept their furious gazes on each other. "You have no right to treat Korra in such a barbaric way." Tenzin hissed. His usually peaceful eyes were clouded in what could only be described as pure hatred.

"I believe we're forgetting who the girl's real father is, Tenzin." Tarrlock returned, a dark smirk one his lips. Tenzin's face went red with anger. Back in Korra's room, three faces exchanged surprised looks. Korra was...related to Tarrlock?

"You gave up your rights as a father when you abandoned her, before she was even born, might I add!" Tenzin said, pointing at him furiously. "You didn't care a thing for her and not a thing has changed since then, has it?"

"I am her father." Tarrock sounded angry. "As her father and only living parent, she's mine to do with what I please. What, did you think you would be her new father because of that silly adoption agency?"

"Korra is not an object you can use at will," It was clear now that Tenzin was struggling to keep calm. "and she wants nothing to do with you. She knows you left her to be sent to that orphanage and as such to the White Lotus. For years, she was miserable in that compound. I love her as much as my own children. I would do anything to protect her and see her happy. Can you say the same?"

Tarrlock narrowed his eyes. His voice held all the deadly venom of a spider-snake. "The Avatar doesn't need love, she needs to preform her duties. And by the way," a nasty glint appeared in his eyes, "dose she know that you knew the whole time? That you knew what the White Lotus was putting her through and did nothing to stop them for a full thirteen years? I wonder what she'd do if she found out that her beloved 'guardian' –"

The conversation never got to go farther because Korra's friends, who decided that they'd heard more than enough, opened the door. Three sets of eyes glared at Tarrlock. "I think it's time for you to leave." Mako growled. His hands were starting to smoke in anger.

Tarrlock narrowed his eyes. "This isn't over, Tenzin. Korra is mine, and she'll do as I say in time." Without another word, he left. There was total silence for a long moment.

"Wow. Talk about a dysfunctional family." Bolin attempted to joke.

"She never told us that Tarrlock was her father." Mako said.

"I think she believed that her family situation was tame compared to you two, so she never felt the need to go into it." Tenzin said. "Besides, she has always preferred not to acknowledge Tarrlock as her father."

"After what we just heard, it's no wonder." Asami said with disgust. "Did he really just abandon her like you said?"

"As soon as her mother revealed herself pregnant, he –" Tenzin was silenced by a low moan and the shuffle of sheets coming from the now open door. Korra was sitting up now, rubbing her still tired eyes. She beamed as the sight of Mako and Bolin but that turned to wariness when she saw Asami. "We'll talk about it later." Tenzin whispered quickly to them. The story might have been what they wanted, but it certainly wasn't what Korra needed.

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This was supposed to be a oneshot, but it got such a warm welcome and the ideas just started...flowing!For scenes like this, which can't fit into the episodes, I will try to put in original readings, like how BronyDubs4Life on Youtube dose. Review.


	3. Asami's Surpise

**Chapter Three: Asami's Surprise**

Asami took a deep breath to steel herself. Her friends, Mako in particular, had wanted to come with her for support and to protect her if her father tried to attack. Asami had refused, telling them that she had to do this herself, which they respected.

Now she was standing outside the mansion, her former home. Hiroshi had apparently been expecting her because he was right there, staring her down. His eyes were steely as well. All Asami could think to say was; "Why."

"I told you – they took your mother." Hiroshi hissed.

"No!" Asami spat, her eyes widening with fury. "She was my mom. I loved her, too, but I don't hate benders!"

"I should have known you'd been drawn to their kind, just like your mother." Hiroshi grumbled just loud enough to be heard.

"What're you talking about?" Asami asked.

"He was a bender, too. Your real father." he said, a look of disgust in his eyes. Before Asami, shocked as she was, could ask for clarification, he went on. "Your mother was, in truth, my sister Akina. I still loved her with all my heart, but she always had a thing for...benders." Hiroshi spat the word. "My true wife and I were unable to conceive and we were already looking to adopt. Unlike Akina, she shared my views against them."

"So..." Asami said unsure. "The people I thought were my parents were my aunt and uncle?" He nodded. "Where are my parents?" she demanded.

"You're good for nothing father left Akina as soon as she revealed she was pregnant. The less you know about him the better, nothing but a filthy bender. Akina died in childbirth, so I took you both in."

"Both?"

"You where born with a twin sister." At the look on Asami's face, a scary gleam appeared in Hiroshi's eye. "It was by pure luck that Akina looked so much like my wife, we planned to raise both on you as our own. It was easy with you but she was quite a different story. She looked too much like her father."

"Where is she?" Asami asked dangerously. "My sister."

"When you two were six months old, the child began bending. Neither me nor my wife would take it, so we sent her to some orphanage in another nation. I certainly never expected to see her again, but once I heard who she really was, it made me all the more certain that sending her away was the best thing for us."

"So she's here? In the city?" Asami asked. She meant to ask what Hiroshi meant by 'who she was', but felt she'd get no answer to that.

"Yes. In fact, quite a bit closer than you expect." Hiroshi said, turning around to go back inside. "I suggest you get going. Your little...friends are waiting."

Asami was silent for a while. It was hard enough coming to grips with her 'father' being an Equaliest, now she learns that the couple who raised her were just relatives, her mother had died in childbirth, her father was a bender she'd never known, and she had a sister?

Boy, would this be one long story when she returned to the island.

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Yeah, I admit it might be a bit lacking, but...Review.


	4. Silent Love

**Chapter Five: Silent Love**

It all seemed so unreal. Like a bad dream that he couldn't escape. Seeing Korra, who was always so strong, so capable, so fearless, laying in her bed. Her cuts and bruises were gone thanks to the healers and her hair was down and sprawled out on the pillow. She looked so much more mature with it down, but nothing like herself, he decided. She looked so peaceful. So vulnerable. Thinking back, Mako had no idea what had come over him. He'd never been so scared, so furious that someone had dared to take one of his loved ones from him. If someone had asked Mako a few days ago, there would have been no doubt that he loved Korra as a very dear friend, maybe even something in the way of a younger sister. But he wasn't so sure now. Something was different. Something was, well, wrong. And it worried him. True, Korra had always had a way of making him worry, be it for her own safety or unrest about her occasionally questionable sanity, but nothing like this had ever happened before. He tried not to think about how easy it would be to really lose her. Avatar or not, Korra was still just a person and people were alarmingly fragile. On impulse, he lightly held her hand in his. It helped him believe she was finally back and safe with him.

Mako remembered his feelings a few hours ago. Relief at Naga's howl, because if Naga was close, that meant so was Korra, right? From the moment her saw her, two emotions had been swirling in his mind for hours.

First was the anger at that Tarrlok. How could he do such a thing to anyone, let alone his own child? Mako personally agreed with Korra that Tenzin was a much better choice for a father. Given he didn't know ether men very well, but enough to know that Tenzin would never do anything anywhere close to this magnitude, no matter how impudent Korra became. As the healers had been tending to Korra, Mako had asked Lin to keep a sharp eye out and tell him immediately if there was ever even any mention of Tarrlok again. He wanted to be the one to deal with him, make him pay personally for doing what he did to Korra.

Second was, strangely enough, happiness. Not relief but pure happiness that she was home, that she was okay. He never remembered being so happy in his life, topping even his many moments with Asami. He wondered what if Korra hadn't been so badly hurt or exhausted? Mako had run the scenario in his head a hundred times already, and it always ended in a rather startling epiphany.

She would run to him no doubt, tackle him to the ground probably. He could imagine he would have been so happy he might have flipped them over so she was below him, at his mercy, and he would take her up in his arms, hold her to him and kiss her.

...Kiss her...

Before today, Mako would have scoffed at the idea of loving Korra in a romantic way. He already loved her as a sister after all, that would be creepy. Sure, he might have had a crush on her once, but it was nothing compared to his feelings for Asami. Mako didn't understand what was wrong then, because his relationship with Asami just didn't seem so important right now. He knew he never truly loved Asami, they never had what he remembered his parents had had, or what he saw Tenzin and Pema had. He had tried so hard to change that, to make himself get over Korra by falling in love with his girlfriend – the one he was supposed to love anyway. But try as he might, he couldn't anymore. Korra and Korra alone was his top priority now.

It scared him to think of it. For a moment, he tried to reason with himself against it. Korra was too brash, Korra was too out-of-control, Korra was bound to get herself killed one day if she didn't stop being so – her! And with every argument his head seemed to make, his heart always had the same answer; That's why she needs me. When that didn't work, he tried thinking of something else. Asami, his girlfriend, who he should be thinking of. Asami was kind, beautiful, smart and rich. The rich daughter of an equalist. The equalists worked for Amon, who Korra had to stop.

With that, Mako thoroughly gave up. He thought about her constantly, couldn't find one reason they shouldn't be together, and she now had priority even over his relationship with his girlfriend. He also noticed the look she gave him sometimes – heck, whenever they were alone more like it. The first time he'd seen it was when she'd first won them a match and he'd taken her aside to ask her if she wanted to be a Fire Ferret permanently. The second was after she kissed him, before a certain incident that had sparked what he recognized now as a pretty silly fight. The most resent, though, was when she was gazing up at him as he carried her to the sky bison only a hours ago. It was the look that he remembered his parents giving each other, as did Tenzin and Pema. That look was love, he knew it. Korra loved him.

Korra...Loved him? And he was in love with her, too?

It was a strange thought, and it didn't really strike him as a bad thing ether. For some reason, this new-found love had him feeling eager. He wanted to see her open those bright blue eyes, to hear her, to make her happy again. But mostly, he just wanted to know she was alright.

His heart skipped when she moaned and started to stir. Mako held his breath as Korra forced herself onto her arms and her eyes focused on him. Normally, he would urge her not to push herself too hard, but he knew she wouldn't listen. And he quickly realized that it didn't frustrate him anymore.

"Mako!" she beamed and tackled him to the ground – just as he predicted. There was no flip, embrace or kiss though, instead he just allowed her to bury her face in his chest and he still held her in his arms – where she belonged. As Mako hoped his heartbeat wasn't fast enough for her to pick up, he caught a whiff on her hair. It smelled like rain.

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Poof! Fluffy Makorra! Review.


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